Steam-operated emergency valve for oil and gas wells



' Oct. 28, 1930. s. c. PHILLIPS 1,779,637

STEAM OPERATED EMERGENCY VALVE FOR OIL AND GAS WELLS Filed May 2, 1930Patented Oct. 28, 1930 UNITEiDjsrATES Parri-1NTV y`oFil-j'l'clz 'YSYDNEY c. PHILLIPS, oF oJIIQAIIoIiIA CITY, .oxLAHoiIA Ysmamornnmrnnnnnnennev VALVE son oI-I. AND ens warms y' Application4filedk may a,

My invention relates to improvements in valve control to cut olf thesupply of oil and gas 'in case of a fire in high pressure wells; Theprincipal 'objects of my inventionare to provide a devicerofthisvcharacter which is positive in action, simple and inexpensive inconstruction; new; novel andV easily loperf ated; which is strong,durable, reliable and of evident utility; which'ca'nnot easily Vget outof order and is eiicientfor'the purposes for which it is intended; toprovide a' valve adaptedto beseated ,onA thefwel'l casing above themaster gate valve, operated by steam land controlled from the boiler orany convenient point remote from the intense heat caused by the burningwell; la valve whichwill close instantly on admitting steam intothepiston which operates the gate; a valve which can be quicklydisconnected from the casing and moved to another location when the wellis under production 'andtheemergency is past. With `these and otherobject-s in view my invention consists of the construction, novelfeatures and combination of parts hereinafter more fully described,illustrated in the accompanying one-sheet drawing and pointl ed outinthe claims hereto appended; i Various changes in theform,1prop'ortion, size,

shape, weight and minorvdetai'ls of construetion, withinthe scopeof myinvention may be resorted to -without departing from the spirit or broadprinciple of myrinvention or sacri-V ficing any of theadvantagesthereof.` j

l In the accompanying drawing, 'Figure 1 isa sectional plan view ofthedevice; Fig. 2 is an elevation partly in section; and Fig. 3 is anassembly view in elevation. In the following description like charac#ters of reference'designatelike partsin all the figures, and it is to beunderstood that the Ydrawings are to be interpreted as beingillustrative and not restrictive.` 4

The destruction wroughtby the firing of a well producing largequantiesof oil and gas 45 under high pressure has been demonstrated1930. Asaranno; 49,219. r C

in many fields. `Aside from the great-losses of oil and gas from therwell itself, the danger to other: neareby wells andfsurroundingproperty, especially whendrilling is vcarried on 1n proximity to citiesand built-up? areas, requires prompt, immediate action in 'controllingand extinguishing 'the iire. A' The wooden portions of the derrick anddrilling plantare rapidly consumed, andtheV metal portions are convertedinto a mass of twisted ironandsteel. This'and the intense'heat prevent Yclose approach to the casing head and the master-gate valve' under theseconditions cannot be closed. Mysteam operated lemergencyl valveobviatesall of thisy as it` is so constructed as to close instantly andis operated'from theb'oilers.` Y s i 'One embodimentfof myinventionisshown as follows: The valve body 2'sstre`ngthened by thelongitudinal re-inforcing ribs'liand 4 and the transverse ribsrand 16.The said body 2'is anchored downfby the rods '7 seated in cuts 8 ofsaidribs. AWrench hexagons9 and 10 togetherwith 'screw'thre'adsll and 12through'tlie said body 2. At'right angles kto v vsaid passage 13'Ipr'o-vide `valve chamber 14 for slidably seating gate l5. vAdjacent theforward endof gate 1`5is positioned circular opening 16, slightly largerink diameter than said casing 1 but made to seaton the same verticalaxisas that ofthe saidcasing 1 when said gate 15 is in itsretrievedposition. as can best be seen inv Figs. 1 andy 2. At 17 I' pro` vide aninclined transversesurfaceacross the upper forward end 30 of gate 15 anda similarinclined `surface V18 across the upper surface atthe rear ofsaid gate 15. At 19 and 2() on the' upper wall of valve chamber 14arecorrespondingly inclined seats for the said i seats 19 and 2Oco-acting with said surfaces 17 and 18 to force the gate 15 downwardagainst the ground bottom surface 21 of valve chamber 14 and close thepassage 13 when the said gate is moved forward to the final seatingposition as indicatedby the dotted lines in Fig. 2. In order to provideagainst friction on gate 15 due to the upward pressure of the gas andoil as the said gate 15 is being closed, roller bearings 22 mounted onbolt shafts 23 are placed over said gate 15 on either side of passage13. The bolt shafts 23 are furnished with a short enlarged section 24adjacent the oversized hexagonal head 25, said section 24 being adaptedto fit snugly in and close the hole through which roller bearings 22 areinserted into the space provided for said bearings 22 within the valvebody 2 and above gate 15. Bearings 22 and bolts 23 are secured to body 2by means ofl nuts 26 and cotter keys 27.

The air confined bet-Ween forward end of gate 15 and wall 31 of chamber14 forms a cushion and prevents gate 15 being driven into seatingposition with such force as to damage the valve body 2. Airrelease valve28 in wall 31 allows the airto escape when gate 15 is finally seated.Sufficient metal 29 is provided between opening 16 and forward end 30 ofgate 15 to completely close-in the air and prevent mud, sand or othersubstances from filling the air space just described and forming anobstruction to the seating of gate 15.

The means for actuating the gate 15 consists of steam cylinder 32,having flange 33 for connecting with flange 34 of valve body 2. The saidflanges 33 and 34 are secured together by bolts 35. Adjustable pin stops36 screwed into cylinder 32 bear against the rear end of gate 15 andposition opening 16 in exact alinement with casing 1 and passage 13.Steam piston 37, provided with piston rings 3S, is connected with gate15 by piston rod 39 having packing gland or stuffing box 40 of anysuitable construction. Cylinder head 41 secured to flange 42 on steamcylinder 32 by bolts 43 provides means for connecting steam pipe 44 withsaid steam cylinder 32. Threaded sockets 45 in piston 37 furnishes meansfor retrieving gate 15 when cylinder head 41 is removed and alsoscrewing piston rod 39 into said gate 15. Petcocks 46 serve the purposeof drainingthe steam cylinder.

In assemblying my valve, gate 15 is inserted in chamber 14, pin stops 36are adjusted in cylinder 32 to properly aline opening 16 and passage 13,flanges 33 and 34 are bolted together with proper packing therebetween,piston rod 39 seated through stufhng box 40 with piston 37 attachedthereto is screwed into gate 15 by means of sockets 45, cylinder head 41is bolted to flange 42 with proper packing therebetween and steam pipe44 is screwed into cylinder head 41. Roller bearings 22 having beenplaced in position the valve is connected to casing 1 above the mastergate, anchoring rods 7 are secured to the cellar floor, derrick base orother suitable support, pipe 44 is connected with the boiler and undercontrol of a quick acting steam valve and my emergency valve is readyfor operation.

Should a well protected by my improved, steam operated valve becomeignited by a spark, static electricity or other cause, all that isnecessary to extinguish the fire is for the man nearest to the boiler toopen'the quick acting valve on steam pipe 44 and the lire is immediatelyextinguished. The steam, acting on-piston rod397througli piston 37forces gate 15 againstthe air cushion with near the speed 'off a bullet.The 'air is highly compressed andA escapes through valve 28 as the gate15 comes to rest, inclined surfaces 17 and 18 wedging under inclinedseats 19 and 20 force the said gate 15 into a leak-proof junction withground bottom surface 21 of chamber 14. When the emergency is past andthe valve is of no further use at a given location it can easily andquickly be disconnected and moved to a new well there to again serve aseffectively. i

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is i j 1. In a device of thecharacter describedthe combination, a valve body with pairs of transverse and longitudinalreinforcing ribs, said body having a central passage therethrough, meanson a pair of said longitudinal ribs for anchoring said body, screwthread connecting means for a well casing within the walls of the saidcentral passage, wrench receiving means adjacent said screw threads,walls of said body at right angles to said central passage forming avalve chamber, a perforated sliding gate adapted for seating within saidchamber, inclined transverse surfaces across said gate adapted to co-actwithcorrespondingly inclined seats on the upper wall of said chamber, a.ground surface on the bottom of said chamber adapted to form aleak-proof closure with said gate for said casing, roller bearingswithin saidA body above said gate adjacent each sideof said centralpassage, remote control steam actuated piston for sliding said gate intoclosing position and` means providing an air cushion stop for said gateto prevent injury to said body by the closure of said gate.

2. In a steam operated emergency valve, the combination with a steamcylinder under remote control, of a perforated sliding gate adapted forseating within a chamber in a valve body, a valve body having a centralpas-` sage therethrough, the perforation of said gate being adapted toaline with said central passage when said gate is in open position,walls of said body at right angles to said paschamber, said air in saidtrap serving as a n cushion in seating vsaid. gate n closing said valveand means ior releaslng the compressed air fromv said trap as said gateis fully seated. Y

SYDNEY C. PHILLIPS.

